radiofree.asia

Jeremy and Zarah’s new left party surges towards half a million sign ups

Keir Starmer has proven to be a massive disappointment as prime minister, having failed to pursue any of the policies which won him the Labour leadership back in 2020. At this point, it seems likely the Labour Party is unsalvageable, and that as long as it continues to exist it will never be anything besides a Tory-lite sham which exists purely to give voters the illusion of choice. As such, it’s exciting to see that choice is back on the menu, with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announcing the formation of a new left party. Even more excitingly, the party is fast approaching half a million sign ups:

A new left party

On 23 July, MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana posted a link to sign up with the following message:

It’s time for a new kind of political party. One that belongs to you.

The system is rigged.

The system is rigged when 4.5 million children live in poverty in the sixth richest country in the world. The system is rigged when giant corporations make a fortune from rising bills. The system is rigged when this government says there is no money for the poor, but billions for war.

We cannot accept these injustices – and neither should you.

We will only fix the crises in our society with a mass redistribution of wealth and power. That means taxing the very richest in our society. That means an NHS free of privatisation and bringing energy, water, rail and mail into public ownership. That means investing in a massive council-house building programme. That means standing up to fossil fuel giants putting their profits before our planet.

Meanwhile, millions of people are horrified by the government’s shameful complicity in genocide. We believe in the radical idea that all human life has equal value. That is why we defend the right to protest for Palestine. That is why we demand an end to all arms sales to Israel. And that is why we will carry on campaigning for the only path to peace: a free and independent Palestine.

Our movement is made up of people of all faiths and none. The great dividers want you to think that the problems in our society are caused by migrants or refugees. They’re not. They are caused by an economic system that protects the interests of corporations and billionaires. It is ordinary people who create the wealth – and it is ordinary people who have the power to put it back where it belongs.

It’s time for a new kind of political party. One that is rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements. One that builds power in all regions and nations. One that belongs to you.

Sign up at www.yourparty.uk to be part of the founding process, leading to an inaugural conference. At this conference, you will decide the party’s direction, the model of leadership and the policies that are needed to transform society. That is how we can build a democratic movement that take on the rich and powerful – and win.

Real change is coming.

Jeremy Corbyn MP / Zarah Sultana MP

Demonstrating hunger for something new, the party quickly closed in on 100,000 sign ups:

If you thought they’d end day one with 100,000 sign ups, you’d be wrong, as they actually hit double that:

 

And it didn’t stop there:

Or there:

At this rate, they could realistically hit half a million, and who know where they’ll go from that point:

Genuine conviction

To give you an idea of why people are gravitating towards a party with Corbyn and Sultana, these are some of the things they posted in between the above updates:

As Corbyn pointed out, if you oppose Reform, this new party (and maybe the Greens) are the only realistic option for you:

It’s not just Corbyn and Sultana leading the charge, either:

Does this mean the new party could win the next election? That’s doubtful given the timeframe, but at the same time it seems Labour are going to lose either way. Also, let’s not forget that a Reform government seemed ridiculous 12 months ago; now it seems inevitable.

The establishment will tell you it’s impossible, but most people have long-since moved past trusting the establishment, so the time is ripe for genuine change.

It’s also apparent that younger people who have been subjected to less mainstream conditioning are already leaning towards this new party:

 

A recent interview conducted by the Empire Files journalist Abby Martin demonstrated why so many people trust Corbyn on important issues – not just because he’s usually right, but because he actually seems to care about other people:

Some like journalist Matt Kennard have pointed out there’s only potential for this new party because of Starmer’s political incompetence:

 

UK political membership

The Commons Library holds the following information on party membership (Reform has said it has over 200,00 members):

Estimates from political parties’ head offices, press releases and media reports indicate that:

  • The Labour Party has around 432,000 members as of December 2021 (Electoral Commission data)
  • The Conservative Party has around 172,000 members as of September 2022 (Financial Times article)
  • The Liberal Democrat Party has around 74,000 members, as of December 2021 (Electoral Commission data)
  • The SNP has around 72,000 members, as of March 2023 (reported by the BBC). This was down from around 104,000 members, as of December 2021 (Electoral Commission data)
  • The Green Party (England and Wales) has around 54,000 members, as of December 2021 (Electoral Commission data)
  • Plaid Cymru has around 10,000 members, as of August 2022 (correspondence with party head office)

Under Corbyn, Labour became the largest political party in Europe with 550,000 members. You may notice the above data for Labour is from 2021, with Labour List reporting earlier this year that things have taken a turn for the worse under Starmer:

Labour has lost more than one in ten members since the general election, new figures suggest, with the party losing one member every ten minutes on average in recent months.

The party’s paid-up members currently number around 309,000 – down 11.4% from around 348,500 in July last year, according to members of the party’s governing body.

. …

National executive committee members also report that the party’s youth membership has fallen to 30,000, from more than 100,000 five years ago.

Three left-wing Constituency Labour Party representatives on the NEC have attributed the decline to controversial decisions like winter fuel cuts, the continuation of the two-child benefit cap and a reluctance to criticise Donald Trump.

Jess Barnard, Gemma Bolton and Yasmine Dar also attributed it to what they called “sustained attacks on the democratic rights of members”, with many cases of CLPs not being allowed full control over candidate selections in recent years.

. …

It comes around six months after Labour’s annual accounts revealed membership of the party had dropped below 400,000 for the first time in almost a decade.

So, does this mean the new left party has the largest membership in the country? No, it doesn’t – not yet, anyway – as the numbers we’re talking about are ‘sign ups’ rather than paying members. It remains to be seen how many paying members the new party can secure, but they’re certainly off to a good start, and it was a smart move to get the ball rolling like this.

While we can’t predict what the membership will ultimately look like, we have already witnessed what the ‘Corbyn effect’ on a party’s membership looks like, as this Commons Library graph demonstrates:

Graph demonstrating that Labour membership significantly increased under Jeremy Corbyn

So much opportunity in a new left party

The greatest problem Corbyn faced as Labour leader was that the party was stuffed with neoliberal shitbags like Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips who attacked him at every turn. Not only will the new party be free of this dead weight, but the country has now seen what it looks like when you give these freaks power. Good luck trying to convince the public that Corbyn is the real threat when you’re the ones cutting off support to sick, disabled, and older people, you centrist ghouls!

It should be noted that the new left party has no leader yet, and that the leader will be voted on democratically by members. If you want to engage with the sort of democracy that Starmer has quashed in Labour, be sure to sign up now, and become a member as soon as you have the opportunity to do so. It’s ‘your party’, after all.

Featured image via Jeremy Corbyn (Flickr)

By The Canary

This post was originally published on Canary.